As a veteran enjoying a marriage approaching 24 years now, I continue to remain mystified by the arguments that discrimination against gays and lesbians is somehow “pro-family” or necessary for a civilized society.
We need to get the state out of the marriage business — marriages ought to be left up to churches/synagogues/mosques/etc., with no religious [...]

Oregon Conservation Network reports:
Biofuels may be the first Priority bill to pass this session. HB 2210, which establishes the renewable fuel standard and provides incentives for Oregon biofuel production, passed (4-1) the Senate Environment and Natural Resources committee on Thursday. It is now headed to the Senate Revenue Committee.
The problem is that [...]

Expanding Oregon’s Electronic Recycling Program
HB 2626 unanimously passed the House Energy and Environment Committee on Monday and now it is headed to the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Natural Resources. A hearing has not been scheduled, but we are expecting one as early as late next week.
See prior blog posts for an explanation of [...]

Word is that Rep. David Edwards has come down in FAVOR of HB 2761, so a THANK YOU call from anyone in Washington County is very appropriate.
David Edwards (Hillsboro) 503-986-1430
A friend pointed out that Republican Kim Thatcher of Keizer (district 25) voted for HB 2761 in committee, [...]

To All Supporters of Better Elections:
Bill providing local governments with the OPTION of using instant runoff voting (IRV) will go the Oregon House floor.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED NOW!
WE HAVE UNTIL MONDAY 4/09 TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Here is an update on HB 2761 as of 4/04/07 and what we need to do right now to make [...]

A friend sent me this question on the most recent E-waste post:
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I love your e-waste stuff.
Pardon my ignorance, but does someone have a solution to propose? Is there one in HB-2626?
Is the only option to get manufacturers to stop using these metals? How do we move forward on this issue?
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Here’s a link to a two-page [...]

Read this:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/04/300/
about the MILLIONS of tons of e-waste being generated and, mostly, handled by shipping it to China and India so that, literally, the poorest of the poor can take it apart by hand and be exposed to the toxins. (The rest stays right here, until it winds up in a dumpster, and then [...]

You should all be supporting the expansion of the bottle bill–although the eventual bill there will be flawed and fall short, it’s a giant step in the right direction to get water bottles under the bill and to get a task force going to start updating the procedures.
Take action: call your senator and representative and [...]